VW will revive Scout nameplate for electric pickup

UPDATE: VW has officially confirmed the news in a statement: "The vehicles will be designed, engineered, and manufactured in the U.S. for American customers. To this end, a separate, independent company will be established in the U.S. this year as the Volkswagen Group moves the strong iconic U.S.-brand Scout into the electric vehicle space. The first prototypes are to be unveiled next year, and production is scheduled to start in 2026. The electrified Scout brand will be built upon a new technical platform concept which brings new pickup and RUV credibility beyond the existing Volkswagen Group portfolio."

Our original reporting follows ...

Volkswagen will strengthen its presence in America by bringing back the long-dormant Scout nameplate, according to a reports. Consigned to the automotive attic in 1980, the Scout name will allegedly make an unexpected comeback as a sub-brand focused on electric off-roaders.

Citing anonymous sources, the Wall Street Journal wrote that Scout will morph into a sub-brand within the Volkswagen Group with its own management team, meaning it will be on the same basic level as Porsche and Audi, among other divisions. It will initially sell two models: a pickup and an SUV. Both will be electric and built on a new skateboard-type platform, though additional technical details haven't been released. The report adds that the SUV will be about the same size as the Atlas and that the pickup will be roughly Amarok-sized, so Ford Ranger-sized. They'd be designed with a clear focus on off-roading; it sounds like Scout would have Rivian's R1T and R1S in its crosshairs.

Volkswagen is ready to invest $1 billion into the project, according to the Wall Street Journal, though Reuters claims an initial investment of 100 million euros (approximately $105 million at the current conversion rate). Both publications learned some of the funding would come from outside sources and that an IPO is in the pipeline. Launching the Scout brand may involve building a new factory, one that could be located in the United States, so it's certainly not a cheap proposition. It's a high-risk bet with high stakes: if everything goes according to plan, Volkswagen would gain a foothold in some of the biggest and most lucrative segments of the highly profitable American market.

If the report is accurate, Volkswagen's board of directors will decide whether the Scout brand gets the proverbial green light at a meeting scheduled for May 11, 2022. Production should start in 2026, and the firm hopes to sell about 250,000 cars annually in the United States.